30s Beat 15s In Online Video Advertising Study

A recent study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA), looking at the key factors driving video advertising success, used a variety of ads featuring everything from consumer packaged goods and financial services to airlines and pharmaceuticals, and four ad attributes, testing 96 combinations for how they impact key advertising and brand metrics.

Pam Horan, OPA president, said "With online video firmly entrenched in the mainstream, marketers need to understand what works for driving key advertising metrics. (this study) identifies the most important factors, from ad length to the impact of adjacent content, that can improve video advertising effectiveness... the study is an important step in laying down concrete, high impact techniques for marketers."

30s Top 15s. In two of the four advertising and brand metrics measured, ad length was the leading factor driving lift. And with each, 30 second ads outpaced 15s: ad relevance (30% lift using 30s) and brand consideration (23% lift using 30s).

The study reinforced the notion of a "halo" effect from website video content affinity. If the consumer had a prior brand affinity toward an advertised brand and they liked the adjacent video content, brand consideration jumped 61%. If the consumer's initial attitude toward the brand was neutral or negative, brand consideration still rose 21% if they liked the video content.

The study found that static companion ads can play a valuable complimentary role. To lift brand awareness the combination of a pre-roll and a companion proved to be most effective.

The study found that the leading video content category is news/current events (14% watch daily). Weather ranks second (11% watch daily), followed by jokes /funny clips (9% watch daily).

The study found that online video advertising leads to concrete results. Of the 80% of viewers that have watched a video ad online, 52% have taken some sort of action. Importantly, visitors to media sites (magazine, newspaper, cable, broadcast and pure-play) demonstrated they were more inclined to take action upon viewing a video ad than visitors to portals and user generated content sites.

Of consumers who made a purchase in the last month, 48% said the Internet drove initial awareness, 57% said they learned more using the Internet, 55% used the Internet to decide where to buy, and 56% made the final purchase decision using the Internet.

Horan concluded, "As consumers work their way through the purchase process, the Internet is far and away the most important media they use... "

Details of the Frames of Reference study are being presented on the OPA's annual, eight-city Eyes on the Internet Tour. A copy of the final report will be posted on the OPA website (www.online-publishers.org) at the end of the Tour